John Quincy Adams

Born: July 11, 1767
Died: February 23, 1848
Democratic-Republican
First Term: 1825-1829
Vice President: John C. Calhoun

Although John Quincy Adams was the opposite of a popular and social man, his presidency was made possible by "Corrupt Bargain." Adams was nationalistic and a strict Puritan. John Quincy Adams was a very poor leader because he did not accomplish a lot during his presidency. Accomplishing very little, Adams passed the Tariff of Abominations and angered the American people by federally sponsoring internal affairs. Adams was not a "peoples' man" and even admits in his diary, "I am a man of reserved, cold, austere and gloomy misanthropist, and my personal enemies an unsocial savage. With a knowledge of the actual defect in my character, I have not the pliability to reform it." Overall Adam's presidency rates a D because nothing great was accomplished during his presidency and Adam's greatest accomplishment [internal improvements] during his presidency angered many Americans and he also foolishly passed the Tariff of 1828, referred to as the Tariff of Abominations.

Goals:
The goals of John Quincy Adams were to make a great deal of internal improvements. Adam's high hopes were distinguished after Congress did not approve many of these improvements, thinking them too ambitious. Adams also hoped to protect domestic industry. In trying to protect American industry, the American people were deeply angered by the outrageous Tariff of 1828, so in conclusion, the goal was not accomplished well. Adams goals were admirable, but Adams accomplished very few of his goals though he accomplished the consruction fo the Chesapeake and th Ohio Canal, supported the Cumberland Road Bill, and achieved western expansion.

Relationship With Congress:
John Quincy Adams passed the Tariff of 1828. Adams was a Democratic-Republican . It would look as though Adams was not supported by Congress. Congress vetoed most of his internal improvement plans. Congress also passed the Tariff of 1828, but that stirred many problems. "Adams’ presidency was shadowed by an uncooperative Congress. Unlike Adams, who advocated a loose reading of the Constitution, most in Congress were strict constructionists, favoring states’ rights over central power. Congress thus rejected all of Adams’s proposals for federally funded internal improvements, a national system of roads and canals, higher tariffs, and federal schools" (Return). However, Adams never veteod any of Congresses proposals (List).

Most Positive Action:
Although he angered the majority of the American people, the most positive outcome of Adam's presidency was internal improvements. Adams felt that these improvements should be federally sponsored. Although Adams did not accomplish many of the internal improvements that he had hoped to accomplish, Adams ordered the construction of the Chesapeake and the Ohio Canal. Adams did not question whether federally sponsored improvements were constitutional. He, unlike Monroe, supported the Cumberland Road Bill to repair and preserve Cumberland Road (a road that "tied the East together with the early West") which benefitted the economy, and achieved western expansion (Cumberland). Adam's presidency was the "beginning of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the construction of the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal, and the Portland to Louisville Canal around the falls of the Ohio; the connection of the Greay Lakesto the Ohio River System in Ohio and Indiana; and the enlargement and rebuilding of the Dismal Swamp Canal in North Carolina." These internal improvements did allow for better trade and commerce in Ameria.


Most Negative Action:
Adam's biggest mistake was allowing the Tariff of 1828 (Abominations) to be passed. The Northerners were somewhat unaffected by the Tariff of 1828 because the Northern economy was mostly industry. However, the Southerners were angered and claimed that the tariff was unconstitutional. Although the tariff was passed during Adam's presidency, the problem fell to the lot of Andrew Jackson after Adam's presidency. Adams did not accomplish a great deal in the duration of his presidency.

Influential Actions:
John Quincy Adams did not influence future presidential administrations. But, his actions left a negative impact of the American people of his time. Southerners were outraged by the extremely high tariff (Tariff of 1828) because the South was not benefitting from the booming industry in the North and increasing its property values like the West. The South was "falling on hard times, and the tariff provided a convenient and plausible scapegoat" (Bailey). Because Adams allowed the Tariff of 1828, he made his successor Andrew Jackson go through hell because the Southerners kept working toward nullifying the tariff.

At the end of John Quincy Adam's presidency, the United States was doing poorly. Andrew Jackson, Adam's successor, inherited the problems that came with the Tariff of Abominations. The American people were greatly upset by the Tariff of Abominations. Although some internal improvements were made, but none were outstanding. Because Adams angered the American people by the Tariff of Abominations and made some internal improvements, hence Adams rates a D.

Bibliography

Bailey, Thomas; Cohen, Lizabeth; Kennedy, David M. The American Pageant. Houghton Mifflin Company. Twelfth Edition: New York: 2002.

"The Cumberland Road." 1999. Wetland Supply Co. 8 October 2009http://209.85.135.132/search?q=cache:RHY6bSh8Be4J:www.swetland.net/cumberland.htm+cumberland+road&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.

DeGregorio, William A. "The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents." Barricade Books. Sixth Edition: New Jersey: 2005.

"John Quincy Adams." 8 October 2009. Wikipedia. 8 October 2009 <http://209.85.135.132/search?q=cache:CCP8fsmwNVoJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quincy_Adams+significance+of+the+chesapeake+and+ohio+canal+(John+Quincy+Adams)&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us>.

"List of United States Presidential Vetoes." 5 October 2009. Wikipedia. 8 October 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_vetoes#John_Q._Adams>.

"Return of the Two-Party System: 1824-1828." 2009. Sparknotes. 8 October 2009<http://209.85.135.132/search?q=cache:XYrQZPpHKeYJ:www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/history/chapter8section1.rhtml+what+party+was+Congress+from+1824-1828&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us>.